Collage Mixed Media Artist

Rebecca "Bec" Hawkins Valadez has considered herself an artist all her life. She was first taught and encouraged to draw by her mother who channeled her abundant energy into drawing, painting, and cooking. All forms of curiosity were encouraged. Her current work is mixed media consisting of paint, oil pastels, borrowed images and her own photographs. She works in a backwards progression, with a prompt or title of the piece first, guided by the subconscious mind she works with various ideas such as feminism, politics, autobiographical events or just plain whimsy. Rebecca was a former resident of Bloomington, but now resides in Southern Illinois with her husband Sal and her much loved dogs.

Multimedia artist.

Oil, pastel, acrylic, watercolor, pen and ink, and, only recently, pencil are diverse mediums Becky carefully selects to capture assorted subject matter. Sometimes several mediums are incorporated in a single work of art to create a certain mood. Farm-life with her family provides Becky a medley of inspiration. While Becky and her husband worked and raised their boys, she completed studies with Kachina School of Art, Arizona and Krannert Art Center, Champaign.

Articles on the artist have been published in newspapers, magazines and an international book. Her compassionate work graces many private collections as well as Citizens Bank of Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Dominy Memorial Library, Fairbury and a commissioned oil portrait prominently hangs in Ford County CourtHouse, Paxton.

Watercolor Artist

Beverly is a watercolorist and mixed media artist. She uses color, shape, line and light to create her fantasy images, which lean towards abstract expressionism with touches of realism. The subject matter is inspired primarily by the magic of nature, but anything that personally resonates with her is always welcome. Her work is mystical, whimsical and playful with the essence of the subject shining through. Beverly loves to experiment with various mediums, such as India ink, gouache and acrylic. More recently, she has incorporated digital art effects into her work. Beverly's art path is ever evolving.

Caroline Goldsmith was born in the city of Sydney Australia in 1964. Goldsmith was busy creating since the age of three. Teachers reported on her love of color and line. At 18 she started her professional art career with an art apprenticeship with Miadna publishing company.

Goldsmith studied fine art at East Sydney Technical College, now called The National Art School, at night while working as a finished artist during the day.

Goldsmith is an impressionistic temperature oil painter. Caroline says she expects her work to be appealing, sensitive and have an inherent gorgeousness about it. Her work has been exhibited Regionally and Nationally. It is in a permanent collection of the USA National Parks and in many private collections throughout USA, Germany, and Australia. When not traveling with her paints Caroline will take commissions and works in her home studio. Caroline is a signature level member of International Plein Air Painters.

Collages, oil paintings, quilts

A Central Illinoisan since age four, I’ve been drawing, sewing and creating art most of my life. My formal art education was through the excellent programs in Peoria public elementary, high school and community college. Since retiring, I’ve been able to develop my skills and interests in collage, innovative quilting, and water-mixable oil painting. The social, intellectual and health benefits of participating in art practice are lifelong and worthy of recognition and public support.

Dr. Cindy Lawson (Lawson-Kester) retired from Illinois State University Department as the Assistant Chair of Special Education 2009 after a thirty year career. Creating art came to her by “chance” and through helping relationships and she began studying art in 2012. Multiple teachers, mentors, and workshops have brought her to today. She began painting in oil primarily with a group of local plein air artists who encouraged her to continue and to grow and shared their knowledge.

Dale is a landscape painter primarily, but does wander into printmaking and portraits. He has taught watercolor classes and workshops and enjoys plein air painting with several groups around Central Illinois.

Dale is a proud student of Elizabeth Stein (BHS 1963-66) and has a BFA from Herron School of Art of Indiana University (1970)

Oil painter

Deana can often be found painting “en plein air” around the central IL area. These studies are the basis for most of her oil paintings. She loves painting landscapes of the farm country as well as the occasional pet portrait and still life.

Abstract Artist

Dustin picked up a paint brush for the first time in February 2021, first starting with a pack of five 16 x 20 inch canvases. He started painting what he saw in his head as he would read a book and listened to music. Painting would complete the circle of the experience. From there the obsession grew bolder, bigger and brighter.

The foundation of Dustin’s process is rooted in feeling emotion, seeing color and trying to express thoughts on a canvas using a brush and other household products to apply the paint. In his Instagram bio, he describe what he does as “storytelling, feelings and music interpretations in paintings”.

Multiple Media Artist: Watercolor, Ink, Acrylic, Soft Pastel, Colored Pencil, Pencil and Alcohol Ink.

Eileen is self taught artist, having moved from Bloomington from New York in 2001. Eileen renewed her passion for art once her son left for college and has been going non-stop ever since! Eileen loves to experiment with all kinds of medium, but in particular loves rendering our local buildings, businesses and homes in watercolor and ink.

Multi-media artist

A graphic designer by profession, Ivonne Bess specializes in colored pencil portraits and handmade paper collages.

From an early age Jane wanted to be an artist and one of her earliest memories was going door to door in her neighborhood offering her crayon drawings for a penny. She has never since stopped creating. At the University of Iowa, she studied art and social work, both of which have shaped her adult life.

Alongside her career as a clinical counselor, she continued to create, whether photography, painting, collage, or miniaturing. Having retired as a clinician she now paints daily and once per week with her friends in Plein Air of McLean County.

What Jane finds particularly intriguing is using color and value to create the illusion of light. She mainly works in oil pastel, gouache, watercolor, and ink. She is drawn equally to rural landscapes, urban street scenes, and everyday objects. Jane prefers to jump into her paintings with little planning or preparation and focuses instead on blocking in light areas and shapes, avoiding an emphasis on detail. Many of her current oil pastel paintings are created quickly, with a set of relatively limited but brilliant colors, and only suggested detail. She chooses rich toned paper in colors that compliment her pigments. She loves painting plein air, still life, or from one of the many photos from her travels.

Jeannie has lived in Bloomington-Normal since she was 9 months old. Her family was deep into agriculture because of her father’s job. She was always a drawer starting at a very young age, mostly drawing horses, her love. Art was a great release for her because she could do her own thing and be creative.

Attending Stephens College for interior design and then transferring to Illinois Wesleyan, she earned her BFA degree in Fine Arts in 1972. Studying watercolor, sculpture, painting, art history and printmaking, she learned about her love of the arts.

Currently, Jeannie is creating wooden pieces up cycled from discontinued picture framing samples and antique and vintage jewelry.  Some of these pieces take on an architectural feel while others are humorous.  It’s exciting to be able to use many of the items she has been collecting over the years, the old jewelry, both vintage and antique, things like old piano keys, wood spindles, old fabric samples, saxophone reeds, old games, decorative papers from all over the world, linens, trims, silk flowers and so much more.  She has pulled out her old watercolor tubes and has been doing some floral watercolor paintings and will start them again when her garden is in bloom.

A multi-faceted artist, designer, and illustrator, Jenni Bateman is most noted for works in watercolors, silk painting and acrylics. She is passionately engaged in arts education with artist-in-residence programs and as a visiting artist across the country. Jenni has found favor in juried exhibitions and curated gallery solo shows including The Robeson Gallery, the Contemporary Art Center, and McLean County Arts Center. She is a Signature Member of the International Society of Experimental Artists, and represented by numerous galleries, specialty museum shops and continues her passions as a ‘mark maker’ and educator.

Joanne explores color, shape and depth perception through the use of a variety of media. Her background in music influences my visual art to a great extent. Her choices of visual elements reflects that fact and also shows the influences of nature and the world around her.

Potter

John has enjoyed making pottery since taking his first class years ago at the McLean County Arts Center. Currently, John works with stoneware and primarily creates wheel thrown pots.

I am a New York native, currently based in Bloomington, IL. I am a self taught artist and found myself revisiting painting as a meditative tool in recent years. This new approach has helped me develop a stronger passion for art. Each time I enter my space, I feel calm, relaxed and inspired to create. Much of my work is based on botanicals; collecting and caring for plants and a garden go hand in hand with my meditative practice.

I am so inspired to challenge myself as an artist and continue to develop my skill set. For now I am focusing on exploring watercolors, and I enjoy painting the local architecture in addition to my plants and florals.

Mixed Assemblage

Being Inspired by unwanted books, beautiful illustrations, and the thrill of finding vintage tchotchkes at thrift shops and antique malls, has evolved into Lori’s beautiful Bookcrafts. Lori rises to the creative challenge to recycle all sorts of things and reconstruct books into carefully thought out, finely crafted, and very detailed unique pieces. Lori’s completed Bookcrafts may be nostalgic or sentimental, but also celebrate our natural world and a fondness for the physical book.

Pamela Cather is a Master Photographer who has been working as a portrait photographer since 2009. But after moving to a house in the country by beautiful Lake Bloomington, she became increasingly interested in wildlife photography. She says that “When you're taking a portrait you have a lot of control. With nature shots, God is in control and you have to work alongside Him, patiently waiting for the right moment in time. This does wonders for the revival of the soul."

Though she will look for wildlife subjects anywhere, the majority of her work is done right here in McLean County. She enjoys opening our eyes to the beauty all around us that is sometimes hard to notice.

Philip is a lifelong resident of Bloomington-Normal but his travels throughout much of the United States and more than a dozen other nations have had a profound impact on his artistic career. Originally a juried and award-winning Fine Art Landscape & Floral Photographer, in recent years he has broadened his artistic endeavors to include painting with acrylic and ink.

His paintings offer a captivating blend of the familiar and the unexpected, inviting viewers to explore the intricacies of his visual language. For the last several years Philip has worked on building upon his knowledge of painting, from his college days in Art & Design, to honing his skills through numerous books, articles, and online coursework.

Rose is a local artist that lives and creates in Hudson Illinois. Drawing has always been her passion since she was a child and she continues to draw daily to this day.

Ink and paper are her preferred choice. She uses ink to draw from her imagination. Colored pencil, pens, watercolor and some acrylics are used to incorporate color into her art.

Her art appears whimsical and happy in nature which is reflected from the joy she receives in making the art.

Photographer

Rick is a photographer with an eye for the old and forgotten. His first photograph of an old barn was in the 1980’s. He has been photographing other buildings, vehicles, and other objects left out to pasture since then. Rick shoots whatever captures his eye such as the beautiful old buildings found along the back roads of this country. Ricks work shows his fondness for the subjects he shoots by showing others how he views them. It is his way of preserving the majestic buildings and machines of the American people.

Sarah Zobrist has been an artist since she discovered the joy of sketching horses when she was a young child. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2 Dimensional Studio Art in 2004. She spent much of her career prior to marriage in the world of graphic design. A battle with Crohn’s Disease took her from her beloved California back to her home state of South Carolina. This move was the catalyst to her meeting her husband and moving to Illinois in 2016. She set up an art studio and began to dive into mediums she had loved such as printmaking, oil painting, and pen & ink drawing. A year or two in, she discovered resin as a medium for painting. Painting with resin on canvas is now her primary medium, and her subjects are most often landscapes, flowers, and butterflies. She delights in creating art that carries deep meaning and is full of life.

Never without her sketchbook and pen, Susan Palmer captures the essence of a real moment in time as she draws while she observes her surroundings. Deceptively simple with just a few strokes, her drawings express emotion and joy. She occasionally will insert a "pop" of color which adds even more energy and humor.

Susan exhibits in galleries and jurried art shows where she has won many awards.

Her art schooling was at the Academies of Art and at the Universities of Cincinnati and Hawaii.

Susan enjoys creating special drawings for people.